Plans Astray
by Vera Kate
Summary: Nate Cain isn't a complicated man, but something takes him by surprise. Set during Promises Made: 3.


A/N: So ... been a while, right? I'm working on OS, I swear. If you follow me over on Tumblr, you've seen my periodic updates about ... well, my garbage folder is filling up, but! I'm now on the right track. I just need to finish up chapter 10 and then get a decent way into 11 and then I'll go ahead and upload 10 early. Oh and another reason to check me out on tumblr? I post a lot of Kelley's bits - including a bit about Derek and the Pack and what she's currently working on. You can find it on my post called: "CAINS".

But this is a peace offering! A sign that I haven't forgotten about it.

And? I've also missed Nate. So ... a bit of a set-up, this takes place during Promises Made: 3. It should be clear what's going on though, so no need to re-read it ... unless you want too! :)

I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Otherworld universe by Kelley Armstrong.

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><p>The plan had been simple and to the point. He liked it best when they were like that. Too many options sometimes caused his head to spin. It wasn't as if he could write it out and then list the options and then follow <em>that<em>. He'd be skinned alive if he did it, worse if it caused it to fail or someone to get caught.

The plan was simple. Follow'em, make sure that they weren't dashing off to meet the Pack. Just make sure that Carter didn't go off and do something stupid again. They wouldn't be _in _this situation if he hadn't made that boneheaded decision years ago. Letting Derek go? Hell, he knew that Derek would be the favorite of them, but it didn't matter. Family was family. He could remember how Granddaddy had been when he heard about Zach's death. If it had been a random fight, sure, but killed by the Pack? He was old enough to listen to conversations that started quiet but grew louder with each glass of whisky.

"You hanging in there," Carter asked him. Nate nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. He hated driving anything with four wheels. The lack of thrill was boring, but it worked out this time. He needed time to go over it all in his head.

"How can you be sure that they're going to head here? What if they're wrong?"

"They're coming here, that isn't a doubt. Can you trust me for once?"

Nate laughed. They were closer than most cousins, hell, most siblings even. Granddaddy had raised them and treated as if they were brothers. A boy from his oldest who … well, a werewolf life isn't the easiest or the longest. And Carter was from his youngest uncle, someone who … didn't show up often and when he did, it wasn't the best of times. It was the other uncle – the second of Granddaddy's sons – that Derek came from. He remembered Zach a bit, but everything they heard about Derek reminded him of Granddaddy. Hell, they could pass for father and son. Same face, build, same damn scowl when they were trying to look intimidating.

Carter rolled his eyes. "I'm not _that_ bad to you."

"Just depends on what situation we're talking about."

"Oh yeah?"

"I'd sooner trust you with food than if I as so much turn my head when I'm trying to chat up a girl."

"Oh come _on_, you know it's just all fun and games."

"Right," Nate said. There were more than a handful of times that had happened. A lot of the times, sure, the girl had already been eyeing Carter and waiting to make a break for him. But there were a few that wasn't the case. No, those were the cases that Carter wanted to see if he could have a conquest.

They didn't normally go out much together at night because of this. It was funny the first few or ten times it happened, not so much after that.

Werewolves didn't exactly have the best life expectancy. Especially if they were considered the less than noble _mutts_ by the ruling on high _Pack_. No, he knew that he and Carter both needed to get on with their family duty and make sure that the Cain name didn't die out. Sure, there were the cousins, but they were _the_ family, all the others were offshoots. The responsibility fell more in Nate's lap since he was the oldest son. Hell, he should have had more than a handful of pups by now but … well, there were issues. Carter didn't help, but he wasn't exactly a stunner either. That hindered quite a damn lot.

"We're dosing the girl too?"

"Yep, both are getting some shut eye. It's all about the leverage."

Nate didn't particularly like using it on people, but … well, given the circumstances, it was probably best. Everyone stays safe. No one gets hurt. Well, that's the plan at least.

They pulled into a driveway and he killed the engine. Carter's phone beeped and he hummed as he read the text.

"Yep, all is on schedule. They've left the motel and are headed this way."

There were a number of places where they had looked over earlier in the week. All of the pieces were about to fall into place. Finally. He went over the head.

"One damn thing about the Pack is that they're … predictable," Carter grinned. They had seen the Pack use this car for _months_ now. There wasn't anything suggesting that they were going to abandon their scare tactics now.

"There it is," Carter said after a while, watching the car as it zoomed past in the rear view mirror.

"Right," Nate said, starting up the engine.

The plan was now.

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><p>They were in the woods … doing who <em>knows <em>what, but it certainly what had hadn't been expecting. A game of hide and seek? Carter was out on the edge, watching. Carter had the better instincts. He knew when to strike, when to drive a wedge to separate someone out, and most importantly, knew how to steer them towards him.

It was simple. Just. Stay. Here. Carter would take care of the rest of it. Everything else had already settled into place. It was now just the last and crucial step. If he messed this up … probably wouldn't be a good idea to go back home for a while.

He could hear her running towards him. Just. Stay. Here. She'd see him. She'd think he was _him_ and then they would strike.

His foot started to fall asleep, protesting against his crouched position. He'd have to make it work.

"Pack. Or people. Or someone. Woods. We have to leave now," she wheezed. That surprised him, he would have thought Derek would have kept her in running shape. Could be the pollen though. Damn pollen always got to him in the spring. Was there pollen in the fall? Hell, this wasn't the time for wandering thoughts.

He nodded and stood up. He hoped that she didn't notice the odd way. Damn foot.

"We've got to go," she closed the few feet between them and grabbed his arm.

"We certainly do," he managed to get out as he tackled her down to the ground. He _needed_ to shut off his brain. _Now_ wasn't the time to admire – _no_.

She fought him. She fought like hell. It was a match she had no chance of winning though. Fear was rolling off of her in waves. She'd have an adrenaline rush that would have helped her against someone who didn't know what they were doing.

"I don't want to hurt you, sweetheart," he said as he tightened his grip on her arms, "but if you want to get out of this alive, you need to work with me. The others won't be as accommodating." God she was _tiny_. He had just assumed she looked so _tiny_ because of Derek's size.

"Just let me go, I'll leave and you'll never hear from me again."

He grinned, "That is exactly opposite what we want." He looked up and tilted his head to the side, focusing on listening. Carter should have been here by now … unless, damn it. No, he wouldn't have tried _that_. Surely.

She lurched herself suddenly over. He hadn't expected that. Typically at that point the kidnapped usually were plenty amenable to following the rules. She managed to get free from him but she stopped, dead in her tracks.

Carter. _Finally._

"He wasn't kidding Chloe," Carter grinned.

Chloe was just standing there, staring.

Nate's brain kicked back into gear and he executed the next part. He wasn't happy about it. But damn if she didn't look peaceful.

And beautiful.


End file.
